1. Field of the Invention
The invention principally relates to a wrench for installation and removal of bathtub, sink and water closet spuds or other waste or overflow drains.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous designs for "spud wrenches" exist. They are used to install and remove the brass or chrome plated seal on a bathtub or a sink drain, or waste disposal drains. Before or after the drain is in place, especially in drains such as bathtub drains, it is often difficult to reach the underside of the drain, in order to position a wrench to install or remove the spud or seal. As a result, there is a need in the art to provide a tool for quick and easy installation or removal of such seals when water supply and/or drain systems are changed, or the tub, sink, etc. is changed.
In the art, items such as a U-shaped wrench having a movable arm are known. However, such a U-shaped type wrench obviously lacks the capability to be placed in contact with more than two surfaces in the spud. Basket strainer spuds for laundry tubs or sinks, etc. often have a four sided web for positioning of the strainers, and very often have a circular cut-out in the center of the four sided web. In the alternative, bathtubs, for instance, typically have a circular spud having four projections toward the center. The known U-shaped spud wrench would not be capable of contacting more than two of the projections in a tub, or two surfaces of the web shape design normally used in laundry tubs and sinks. Thus, the ease of operation of this type of unit could be significantly improved upon.
In another form, an expandable eccentric having knurled gripping faces is known. The eccentric obviously suffers from the disability of being severely limited in its use in the web shaped structures. Only a limited portion of its face can be placed above the web, and the knurled surface could damage the surface of the drain.
Thus, it appears desirable to provide a universal spud wrench which will, upon positioning in a spud, come in close surface contact with all of the projections or web structures in the spud. Such a tool will provide simple, close contact with the plural extensions or web shaped surfaces of the spud, and thus provide a mechanical advantage over the known art and facilitate the removal of the spud.